Our RV Adventures

Well, the rainy weather finally caught up with us for the first time since we left Dickinson Bayou on March 1st.

With apparently more to come for the next 4 or 5 days.  Oh, well.  Paradise needs rain too.

And now for the rest of the story…
(Read yesterday’s post first and this will make more sense)

Fanny Flag has had a long and varied career in the limelight. 

Fanny Flagg

She started out as a writer and then co-host with Allen Funt on ‘Candid Camera’ in the 1960’s. 

She’s appeared in a large number of well-known movies, such as ‘Five  Easy Pieces’ with Jack Nicholson and Karen Black,  ‘Grease‘, with John Travolta, and ‘Stay Hungry’ with Jeff Bridges, Sally Field, and Arnold Schwartzenegger.

She was a regular as Dick Van Dyke’s sister on “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” and recorded two very funny and very successful comedy albums.

One little known fact is that she was first runner-up to Miss Alabama in the Miss America pageant.

More recently she is known as a writer of best-selling novels. Although her most famous book is “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe“, she has written 5 other novels, starting with “Coming Attractions” in 1981.  “Coming Attractions” was later reissued as “Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man”.

“Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe“,  of course, became the hit movie “Fried Green Tomatoes“, for which Fanny received an Oscar nomination for writing the screenplay.

“Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man“, although it was set on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, was based on her family’s amusement park here in Gulf Shores.  She also named many of her characters after people who actually lived here in Gulf Shores, including myself.  I was a bratty little kid in the book.  Jan said it was typecasting!

I had not seen Fanny since I was about 7 or 8 years old, but my parents had kept in touch with her parents, Bill and Marion, when both families were living in Birmingham, AL during the 70’s and 80’s.  My mother and younger sister went to see Fanny several times when she came to Birmingham with Broadway touring companies, and were always welcomed backstage after the performance.

In 2002, I saw that Fanny was coming to Houston for a book signing promoting her latest book “Standing in the Rainbow”, so Jan and I, and Jan’s mother, Trudy, went down to see Fanny.

We bought two books to have her sign, and stood in a long line.  When finally our turn came, I handed her the first copy and ask her to make it out to my mother, Frances White.

I could see her hesitate a second and then she started writing.  As she was signing her name, I said “You know, we kind of know each other.  But the last time I saw you, you were my babysitter and I called you Patsy.”

With a squeal that turned heads and brought the store manager running, Fanny, putting this together with my mother’s name, yelled out “Greg!” and pulled me across the table in a big hug.

Fanny and Me

We spent about 10 minutes talking over old times, while other customers waited somewhat impatiently.  Finally we said goodbye and let her get back to her book signing.

So that’s my brush with celebrity. Well, one of them.

Maybe next time, I can tell you about meeting Eleanor Roosevelt,  Col. Sanders, and getting drunk with Sean Connery.

Not at the same time, of course. That would be weird.

And to answer the your probably unasked question, Fanny has never told anyone how or why she came up with the name “Fanny Flagg”.

Jan wanted to visit her ‘lucky’ gift shop.  She calls it that because a number of years ago when we out there with her sister Debbie and her family,  Jan found a $100 bill in the parking lot. 

She wanted to go into the shop and turn it in so they could give it back to the person who lost it.

Cynic that I am, I said “Yeah, right.”  Like that $100 bill would ever be seen again.

So we went inside to the shop and I ask if anyone had reported anything lost.  They said ‘No’ and wanted to know what it was.

I said “I’ll let them identify it” and gave them my cellphone number and told them to give it to anyone who came in and reported losing something.

No one ever called.  Lucky Jan!

Unfortunately Jan wasn’t as lucky this time.  All she came home with was the suntan lotion she bought there.

This morning we started off with the breakfast buffet at Hazel’s.  We always have to eat here at least once.

Coming back we stopped at Buena Vista Luxury RV Resort  being built right across the street from the beach.  This is where you actually own the lot where you park your rig.

Buena Vista Luxury RV Resort

Each lot comes with a lot of amenities, including a one-bedroom guest house.

RV Resort Guest Houses

When we were here in November, we were thinking about maybe buying a lot of some sort in this area where we could park and stay for an extended period with paying thru the nose, especially during the season.

So we decided to check them out. And boy were we shocked!

The ‘cheapest’ lots were over $400,000. (As if anything that cost almost 1/2 million dollars can be called ‘cheap’).   Forget that!

We did however look more closely at Bella Terra RV Resort, about 10 mins from the beach, off the Beach Expressway.

The cheapest lots were in the $90,000 range, which is more in our price range (At least it had one less zero than the other place).  The resort is very nice, with a lot of amenities, and we both agreed we could see ourselves staying here.

But then Jan mentioned the fact that we could stay a lot of nights at RV parks for $90,000… like about 3000 at $30 per night.

Suddenly it didn’t seem such a great idea. (I’m cheap, what can I say.)  So that idea is on hold. But we may change our minds down the road.

After we got back to the coach,  I suddenly remembered “What the hell. I’m retired”.  So I took a nap.

I spent the afternoon working on stuff around the rig while Jan remembered she was retired, so she took a nap.

Isn’t retirement wonderful!

I installed the new hitch receiver I picked up yesterday and then did a thorough checkout of our hitch and towbar system for the toad.  It can be a real bummer to have your toad come loose at 55mph and pass you on the highway. And I’m not kidding. This has happened to people.

I then finished up the new satellite platform I’ve been working on. It should now only take me about 5 mins to set up the dish when we stop.

Just keeping the boss happy…

About 4pm we headed out for dinner at DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen.  Although they’re known for their seafood, we like their other meals. Jan and I both had their Jamaican Jerk Chicken with sweet potato casserole and steamed veggies. The sweet potato casserole, made with caramelized pecans, is probably the best I’ve ever eaten.

After dinner, we drove down the west beach to look it over.  I can remember when there was almost nothing down this way, but now it’s just mile after mile of large houses and condos. 

Coming back we stopped at the public parking area to sit out on the beach for a while. 

Looking around, I recalled how this spot began one of my connections with a celebrity.

Back in the late ’50’s, some friends of my parents, the Neal’s owned this area that is now state public beach.  They had a small amusement park here, a merry-go-round,  several carnival type games, my favorite, a balloon archery arcade, and a snack bar.

Where the amusement park used to be

They also had a daughter named Patricia.  Patsy, as I called her, was about 4 years older than me, and was my occasional babysitter while our parents went out together.

And Patricia Neal went on to be pretty famous.

No, not that Patricia Neal.  And since there was already an actress using that name, Patsy decide to make up a new one for herself.

And thus was born, ‘Fanny Flagg’.

And tomorrow, the rest of the story…